after

like a bucket i’m kicked
on the ground all around
until i spill a river of tears

empty now

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2008

strawberry cry when you’re happy

the midnight sun returned
as i knew it would
white nights replaced black days
an endless pyjama party

the black dog retreated
my breath hung in the air
pawprints on the window pane
their grief frozen in my smile

day & night gave way to flight
the reach of my mind’s eye
a midday moon winked at me
a ghostly strawberry in the sky

& i often wonder why
tears can flow from a glad heart
like a sweet red nectar
from an overripe berry

the midnight sun returned
the black dog retreated
day & night gave way to flight
& i often wonder why

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025

Tumblevision #35

Fuck you. I choose to live.

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025

for sanity’s sake

here between the seasons
the drought & hoped for rains
how on earth we prevail is
a puzzle for analytical minds
we try one smile on at a time

one smile at a time
to keep that sultry darkness at bay
one smile at a time
but perhaps today is not that day
mayhap i wish to sluttily lay
in disarray like i belong
& die erelong

but life goes on
while i whore myself to ruination
& smile along with the twee
their cock-a-hoop clarity in
hopes that we might cohabitate
in peace between drought & rain

& life goes on
one smile at a time

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025

do the right thing

now i see that i
add not a jot of value
shall i lay me down
let them press on with their days
fruitful afore & after

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024